Two cast members told me no sharing allowed on TS

[anneofgreengables]

Basically, the phone CM said that if there are two adults present, 2 TCs will be taken off their account, whether they order one or two entrees. However, it seems like people have a different experience at the restaurants and are able to share for only 1 TC. So I don't think it's a rule change, I just think the phone CMs I talked to are simply not familiar with how the dining plan works in the restaurants. At least that's my guess... or wishful thinking.

So, answering my own question, it looks like many of you are able to share, so I will go by that and keep my extra ADR. I'll just play it by ear--if I can't share my first couple of days at the parks, I will just cancel that extra ADR. I was just hoping to make a few more extra ADRs. Wondering if I should do that too and just cancel them as well if sharing doesn't work out? There are so many restaurants we want to try out...

 

[beth_cam]

I've been thinking that the fact that rarely can a person eat app. entree and desert all the way around the table is the whole point. Kind of like when the pizza place offers a cheese pizza cheap but if you want anything else you pay for it (Little ceasers $5 pizza, you want 3-4 toppings suddenly your pizza is just as expensive as most other places) or the burger joint offering a special on one kind of burger knowing it gets the whole family in and ordering other stuff. They do it to get you interested and make sure that you are getting all your meals there. If there was to be no sharing then the $38 would probably run real close to what most people would actually spend in one day for a cs,ts, snack, giving you a slight break but ensuring disney the business. For most people the buffet or the entree and drink (granted the occasional desert or app would push this up a bit) would probably run 20-28, then a cs of entree and drink around 10 +your snack. Say you even had and app. or desert every time so you add another 7-8 to that and you get a bit of a discount. SO that is their target they ensure you eat all meals at disney for a 'reasonable' price while advertising how much more you can get. You get the variety they get the money. So they can deal with some people always ordering everything and that balanced with the fact that some people wont even get everything (some like my friends who paid for the plan and then didnt read how to use it and thought it wasnt good in the parks and paid for all their park meals OOP and came home with several credits wasted).

Now lets look at this from the actual cost of a meal. We had a meal that we only used one 'kid' credit (ordered kids meal) and one 'adult' credit. I'm kind of guessing here at the credit values but so we payed something like 25 for the adult and 7 for the kids meal totaling like $32. So this meal (50's prime time) ticketed close to 70 by the time you add 18% tip. if we dont share and order 4 meals we probably still stick with 1 appetizer and 2 deserts...the meals are more than enough for 1 so not sharing appetizer and deserts are just extra treats, enjoy tasting this and that. The second appetizer (the one we dont order when getting 4 meals) is about equivalent to the price of the second kids meal we would have ordered. SO the cost of our meal going from using 2 credits and sharing to four credit and not sharing is going to increase by one adult entree and a soda. so that $70 may increase to $90-95 but what we paid for it has increased to $64. so we have gone from paying 47% of the bill to paying 71% of the bill. BIG difference.

Not to mention that if I cant share I cant stretch to cover day 8 on a 7 night stay so that is now OOP. I cant cover the 2 credit meal by having shared so either I miss a table service per day or OOP. everyone keeps going on about how they 'saved' sooo much money on the dining plan because they shared/used kids credits for adults/etc etc and their totals were as much as 1800 for the 700 they paid for the plan...can you blame disney for wanting to get the numbers more inline?

 

[RachelEllen]

I've also thought that sharing on the DDP must cause more of a financial loss for Disney than people using kid's, uh, 'entitlements' for adult meals.

It's been mentioned here many times before that very little of the cost of a restaurant meal is the actual food. Overhead and service costs are a much larger portions. Diners who share under the dining plan are not only using up most of the resources for 2 for the price of 1, unlike other sharers, they now have incentive to repeat this as they have more credits left.

(Please note, I'm definitely not making a value judgement about sharing. It certainly seems to be allowed at non signature restaurants both officially and in practice)

 

[ZPT1022]

I'd be curious to hear from someone who goes soon or has recently come back what happens with the sharing. I hope that it's allowed, not because I am trying to maximize our plan or anything, but I have GERD and a hiatal hernia,and Barrett's esophagus so if my stomach is upset there is not too much eating going on. Some days toast is pushing it, so the thought of an appetizer, meal and dessert is overwhelming. DH and I could easily split a credit- say with me getting the appetizer soup as my meal while he eats the rest. Maybe I should get a doctor's note. Hmmmm....... I'd love to hear from someone who's been there done that.

 

[bicker]

I've also thought that sharing on the DDP must cause more of a financial loss for Disney than people using kid's, uh, 'entitlements' for adult meals.

Yes, but the allowing sharing of meals is pretty commonplace in the industry, while allowing adults to pay for their meals at the child menu price rate is not.

 

[RachelEllen]

Yes, but the allowing sharing of meals is pretty commonplace in the industry, while allowing adults to pay for their meals at the child menu price rate is not.

Common, perhaps, but still a problem. Plate sharing charges are also common. I'm not saying it's not allowed, just that I can see why it's a problem. And, to some extent, Disney also thinks it's a problem. Hence the rule about signature restaurants.

I just wouldn't be suprised if this rule about sharing in signature restaurants is extended to all TS. And, if it is, it may not be, as people have suggested, in order to crack down on pooling credits for child's price/adult meal use. (As some people have suggested in other threads...'abuse' leading to restrictions on other people.) It could also be for legitimate reasons about the practice itself.

 

[bicker]

I must have missed something: Which rule are you referring to?

 

[beth_cam]

The restaurants with no sharing are due to 1 of two things - (1) it is an all you can eat affair buffet or otherwise to which sharing would be inapropriate anyway (2) you are eating at a restaurant that includes a show of some sort so like going to a show you pay by the person. I believe but I could be wrong that like California grill you could share (under the way things currently work).

 

[mlwear]

DH and I don't share entrees anywhere. We both like to choose what we want (plus there is the option if trying something new and it isn't good, you can have a little from the other's plate). We almost always share apps. and dessert, though. That is my preface.

In a very few restaurants, I have noticed a charge for an extra plate when sharing. I really don't have an opinion about it, but would like to know what others think.

Also, I think in a lot of these threads, posters are thinking about the free dining plan. When you pay for the DP, esp., I don't think Disney should be able to tell you how to use the credits you paid for. We are paying for DP for the 1st half of our trip and really debated if it is worth the $. Of course it is if you figure in all the desserts, apps., snacks, BUT those are things we normally wouldn't buy. We looked at menus and made choices as if we didn't have the DP, tallied up including tax and tip and yes DP is still a better deal for us, but not by a HUGE amount. If DH and I typically shared meals, then by no means would it be worth the money. When you buy the DP and you are a family that shares, you are paying for more food than you normally would and if they are going to take your credits for sharing, then you are likely wasting money on the plan. I'd do the math before I'd buy the DP.
Further, during FREE dining not everyone on the DP is getting it for free, so to apply the rule just during that time period isn't really fair either. JMHO

 

[Pedler]

Yes, but the allowing sharing of meals is pretty commonplace in the industry, while allowing adults to pay for their meals at the child menu price rate is not.

Sharing is common in the industry but not for some restaurants that can continually pack in people. This may be an unintended consequence of the dinning plan that works in Disney's favor. The plan appears to have increased the volume of people that are eating at TS places. If you are maxing out your seating one way to increase revenue is to raise prices, the other is to have a plate charge for sharing or to prohibit it all together. Raising prices regarding the dinning plan could have a negative effect of reducing participation and thus the other non dinning benefits that Disney gets from the plan. Having a plate charge or eliminating sharing all together would be the least intrusive way to increase revenue per person.

 

[Step]

Unless you are really upset by waste, if you are on the free DDP what does it matter how much of the food you eat?

I'm going to eat until I'm full and that is that. I'll doggy bag my desert for later is needed. (or not even do that since, hey, it's free!) I don't want the stress of worrying about whether or not I am allowed to share TS credits. I'm going to pay OOP for our breakfasts and use the DDP for CS lunches and TS suppers.

 

[wdwobsessed]

Unless you are really upset by waste, if you are on the free DDP what does it matter how much of the food you eat?

I'm going to eat until I'm full and that is that. I'll doggy bag my desert for later is needed. (or not even do that since, hey, it's free!) I don't want the stress of worrying about whether or not I am allowed to share TS credits. I'm going to pay OOP for our breakfasts and use the DDP for CS lunches and TS suppers.

The issue is that whereas the dining plan is "free" .. it's not really "free".

That late August - September time of year has always had GREAT discounts and codes and such. 2001 - I got a great code that gave me a rate of $130 at Y & BC. 2002 - I got a great code that gave me a rate of $54 a night at All Stars and $199 (? it may have been less) at Polynesian. 2003 (it may have been 04) - They had the buy 4 nights get 3 free promo or whatever it was (blocked it out because I had to cancel that year!).

Fast foward to 2005 & 2006 - Free dining replaced the discounts!

So in a way for me ... yeah the plan is free ... but I'm giving up the great discounts associated with this time of the year. Why would I want to do that for something that becomes very restrictive to the point of not allowing sharing?

I am paying for the DDP ... I am paying what I gave up in offered discounts if it were not for the "free" DDP offer.

Regardless, I will enjoy my "free" dining plan. I just hope that they don't go overboard with this no-sharing thing if it turns out to be true. We don't share at every meal ... but sometimes do. We share enough to maybe get one extra meal for us between 5 people.

We will see!

WDWO

 

[anneofgreengables]

Wow, I didn't realize this was a hot topic and would generate much analysis and discussion, lol.

 

[RachelEllen]

I must have missed something: Which rule are you referring to?

The statement in the dining plan brochure: "Two (2) Table Service meals for each person dining at a signature restaurant will be redeemed from your meal plan balance."

It says something similar about Cinderella's Table, and about character meals (except it says one (1) credit). The fact that they use similar wording for character meals, Cinderella's Table, and Signature dining leads me to interpret this as saying that it's not the two credits they are emphasizing, but, that they may deduct from each person dining.

 

[bicker]

Interesting... I didn't read that passage to imply what you've suggested, but your interpretation is a valid one, and clearly in line with the intent of the plan.

 

[SlightlyGoofy]

wdwobsessed, I agree with you however that being said you do save if you are staying at a Value as the discount is not usually all that great to negate the savings of the DP. If you have children you save much more even.

I opted for the free dining as I do not assume that the discounts will be more than $40 a day at the Values and even if they are that much it is still a good deal and will not only save us some dollars but will make it easier as we will eat all our meals on site instead of going off site. More time to explore The World.

It is all in what you want though. We are going to give it a go and this trip is going to be all about the FOOD. My hubby is so happy since he is going to eat at each of the many restaurants he is always looking at and I will not spend the big bucks to do.

Hope it enjoys it as it might well be the last time. On the other hand I might get surprised and find some new 'favorite" places that become 'must dos".

Slightly Goofy

 

[Dizneydaz]

My mom, my DD6, and myself have used DDP twice now. Jan. 05 (paid for) Sept. 05 (free) We shared both times with no problem. Sometimes I shared with my mom and other times I shared with my DD. The only problem occured the first time we shared (at Spoodles). The server failed to mention to us that the amount of credits deducted is based on # of beverages ordered. We ordered 2 meals and 3 beverages. We were charged for 3 meals. The manager took care of it for us. "Aunt Elaine" and PT explained this rule to us and since then, as long as we paid OP for extra beverage (inc. adult bev.) we had no problem sharing.

We plan on sharing this Sept. too!

 

[TAKitty]

I am not one to try to maximize our credits, but sharing is a must for us. We have to eat three meals a day for the kids. I however cannot eat that much food. At 110 my stomach will not tolerate that much food. If I have a big CS lunch, I will share with my DH and only eat his salad for dinner.

I would be very upset if I was required to order just because we are on the dining plan. Naturally, I know that buffets etc. are different.

 

[LizinSTL]

I am not one to try to maximize our credits, but sharing is a must for us. We have to eat three meals a day for the kids. I however cannot eat that much food. At 110 my stomach will not tolerate that much food. If I have a big CS lunch, I will share with my DH and only eat his salad for dinner.

I would be very upset if I was required to order just because we are on the dining plan. Naturally, I know that buffets etc. are different.

Unless disney forbids sharing for all customers, I highly doubt they'll forbid it for DDP customers. We shared nearly every single CS meal of the week. There were only 3 CS meals where we each chose a meal- there was too much waste at those. We typically shared a burger or chicken strips or whatever. The value of our TS meals far exceeded what we paid for the DDP. We didn't share those but we easily could have at the 2 a la carte meals we enjoyed.

 

[Lewisc]

Interesting... I didn't read that passage to imply what you've suggested, but your interpretation is a valid one, and clearly in line with the intent of the plan.

That passage also has been reported by a few posters to have been used to prevent guests from paying out of pocket for kids meals at Chef Mickey's.

I still think the issue of child vs adult credits would have not been an issue IF Disney was able to stop guests from paying out of pocket for kids meals and from using their credits to purchase meals for guests not on the dining plan.

What was probably intended as a rare courtesy was becoming guest strategy.

To answer the OP question--AFAIK all the character meals are either buffet or all you care to eat. Sharing is not allowed at those restaurants. I'm sure that's the bais for the incomplete information you were given.